San Antonio Express. (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 47, No. 29, Ed. 1 Monday, January 29, 1912 Page: 4 of 12
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SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS: MONDAY MORNING, JANUARY 29, 1912.
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£an Antonio Caress.
By Tbe Express Publishing Company.
MONDAY. JANUARY 2!), 1912.
iintered In the 1'ostofflce at San Antonio. Texa»
as Second-class Matter.
1'OIiKKiN BUSINESS OFFICES.
The JoUn Budtl Co.
Eastern office, Brunswick Building, New York,
Western offices, Trlbuue Building, Chicago,
111.; Chemical Building, St. Louis. Mo.
AGENTS AND CORliKSI'ONDENTU.
Washington, t). C.—Austin Cunningham.
Austin, Tex.—M. M. Harris, 112 East Sixth
Street, Drlskili Hotel Building. Old phone lfcSft-
Traveling Agents— W. C. Payne, C. M. Dever.
A. J. ltenuelds
P. W. l'atton. Circulation Manager.
Auailn Business Office— H. C. Holeomhe, 112
East Sixth Street, DrinkUl Hotel Building. Old
plume 18bS.
Ti.tt.US Ui' SLlifit iill'TION.
By carrier-
Dally, 1 mouth. ...$ .75
Dally, 6 mouths... 4.40
Dally, 12 mouths.. ¥.00
Seml-Weekiy, 0 moa.&Oc
By mall—
Daily, 1 month....! -7S
Daily, (I months... 4.25
Daily, 12 months.. 8.80
Semi-Weekly, 12 raus.t
Sunday Edition, by mail, <i moa., $1; 12 rnos.. $2
The postage rates for mailing The Express are
as follows:
# to 14 pages 01 52 to 64 pages 04
Ifi to ai> pa^es JJ2 04 to 72 pages "0
Sua Antonio Express Special fcewspuper i'raiu
(service inaugurated December 15. W05) leaves
lutcrnatiouul & Great Northern uepot at 3:20
a. m. for Austlu, Taylor, Georgetown. Ileum*
aud Intermediate poluts. This train makes «li
railroad connections eu route. Arrives Austin
i):20 a. m.; Taylor. 8;35 a. m.; Hearue. 11:20 a. ui
This Is the longest run uf a newspaper special
train In the entire South, being 162 miles, .sod
this train is operated solely for th* benefit of
The Sun Antonio Expiess.
Bid CITIES OF TEXAS—CENSUS 1»10.
SAN ANTONIO...»a,6H Houston 78.»MI
Uallas #2,104 Fori Worth 73,312
CIRCULATION BOOKS
OPEN TO ADVERTISERS
Pay your poll tax.
Without a poll tax receipt your vote is
lost.
There is some reason to suspect that Dan
Cupid is behind that movement to organize
a rice trust.
the acre can be produced on the average
Texas farm if sufficient attention be given
to proper farming methods. But with this,
it is also worth the while of Texas farmers
to give greater attention to diversification
of crops. By planting less cotton and mote
corn they can make farming more profitable.
TJie average farm does not produce more
than a third of a bale of cotton, which, at
present prices, will not give Uie produce,- a
net sum of more than $15 or $16 an acre. If
a part of the land now devoted to cotton
was planted to corn and half the attention
given it as is required to make a fi'fly good
crop of cotton, the farmers could get at the
price corn is selling at, which would be
something like twice as much profit from an
acre of land as they get from cotton.
But there would be no need of going to
Chicago or any other distant market to find
ready Diners for millions of bushels of
Texas corn. There is a constant demand in
Mexico for corn from the United States, 'he
demand sometimes being so urgent that the
outy is suspended by the Mexicm govern-
ment. Texas farmers, being several hundred
miles nearer to Mexico than are the farmers
of any other State, would be able to sup-
ply the Mexican markets at lower freight
rates than could be secured from elsewhere,
and thus they would have a great demand
at their very doors which, in filling, they
wou.c have practically no competition.
Corn shipped to Texas from Illinois is
selling to consumers at more than a dollar
a bushel. Cotton sells at only 10 cents a
pound. Any good farmer in the cum sec-
tion of Texas can raise forty bushels of corn
to the acre, while anything more-than a third
of a bale r' cotton to the acre is better than
an average crop. The Te;;as farmers are
trying to increase the price of cotton. By
raising lesfe cotton and more corn they can
most easily accomplish this obiect. Forty
bushels of corn at a dollar a bushel will not
only pay the farmer better than a third of
i a bale of cotton at 10 cents a pound, but
| ut the same time promote the reduced acre-
! age ii cotton that would lead to a higher
| price than is now paid for the fleecy staple.
Clearly the solution of the problem Is in
raising more corn on farms now largely de-
voted cotton. The Texas farmers have
the remedy for their ills in their own hands.
Procrastination is the thief of time and
he will steal your elective franchise if you
don't watch out.
There are a lot of presidential possibilities
just now. But presidential probabilities—
aye, there's the rub!
Yes, the weather is balmy, all right, but
"Spring poets are cautioned to hold their
poems for a few weeks yet.
OUR CITY BUILDERS.
» It may not be amiss to suggest that mem-
bers of the Bryan campaign club this year
adopt the cocked hat as a part of their uni-
form.
Another reason why good roads are badly i
needed in. Texas is the political bandwagons I
are preparing to do a lot of traveling this I
tic'sson.
Prof. Lowell appears to be making I
more progress opening up new canals^.in
Mars than Uncle Sam is making with his j
Panama ditch.
Edison says there will be no poverty a
hundred years from now. But that will be j
a long time to wait for another taste of an J
old-fashioned yard egg.
The readiness with which San Antonio
business men are responding to the request
of committees for subscriptions to carry on
the work of the amalgamated bodies con-
nected with the Chamber of Commerce il-
lustrates not only the liberal public spirit
which prevails in the city, but an approval
of the consolidation of the organizations for
the attainment of greater good.
The efforts made by the committees so
far have resulted in an increase of 50 per
cent increase over subscriptions made by the
same individuals and firms last year, a rec-
ord which it is not unreasonable'to sup-
pose may be maintained during the comple-
tion of the work of securing pledges. This
is encouraging to the men who are devoting
their time and money to the city's welfare,
and its effect upon homeseekers and inves-
tors will be most satisfactory, since the more
enterprising of this class are largely in-
fluenced it> their estimation of cities by the
public spirit among those who compose the
commercial and financial interests.
This is the kind of spirit which builds
up large cities, and San Antonio has enough
of it to insure the future of the city as the
metropolis of the Southwest.
Champ Clark announces that he is a can- !
oidate for the presidential nominal.on on j
his own initiative, not one of the sort who (
Is in the hands of his friends.
THE METROPOLIS WILL LEAD.
The empress dowager of China, having j
made up her mind she should not resign, the j
rebels have undertaken the herculean task j
of convincing a woman against her will. )
Girls who purpose popping the question
this year are cautioned to be careful to have
the agreement provide that the word "obey"
shall not be omitted from the young man's
responses during the ceremony.
What about groundhog day? Why, cer-
tainly; that's easy! If the groundhog sees
his shadow when he comes out of the hole
lie will either stay out or go back in-
strange one should forget \nhich it is.
The effort which Northern Republicans
are making to reduce the representation from
the Southern States in the National con-
vention of the party is apparently due to a
notion that Southern Republicans don't cut
much ice.
CORN AND t OTTON.
According to a live stock publication, corn
which the farmers of Western Illinois have
been shipping to Chicago ig now being
shipped to Texas because the demand for
;orn in this State makes the price higher
then the Chicago buyers are willing to pay.
This circumstance calls attention to the
fact that with all the developments which
are going on in Texas, despite the increased
acreage which is being brought into culti-
vation, and notwithstanding the progress
which is being made in the matter of scien-
tific farming, there still is something wrong
with existing conditions. Texas should be
(hipping corn to Chicago rather than com-
peting with Chicago buyers for corn raised
within a radius of only two hundred miles
of that city.
There ig a large section of the State in
which corn crops equal to the best raised in
any State can be purchased. One Texas bov
has raised 144 bushels of com on an acre
of land, and many other boys and men can
to as veil. At least fifty or sixtv bushels to
v-T
Slate Topics, a Houston publication of
which Jeff McLemore is editor, takes a few
shots at San Antonio in last week's issue.
Among other things, State Topics assumes
to have discovered a rivalry between San
Antonio and Laredo. The suggestion is that
San Antonio, while exploiting her perennial
politics and her wonderful climate, has en-
tirely ignored her trade possibilities, and
that, as a consequence, Laredo is today
wholesaling goods in Bexar County because
of having secured common point rates. It
is further suggested that certain trade goes
from Laredo to San Antonio which could be
diverted to Houston if proper efforts were
mad?". It is added:
The Texas-Mexican Kallrond has long been a
white elephant on the hands of its owners, the
National Railroads of Mexico. This roail is for
sale, and sooner or later Colonel Yoakum will
purchase It and make it a part of his Frisco
system. With Laredo nB a gateway to Mexico,
the Frisco could reduce the time to the City
of Mexico several hours. What is needed Is a
through train service between Houston and La-
redo, which would eliminate the present delav.
Through trains could be run over the Frisco
to Laredo by way of Jtobstown. If Houston mer-
ehants could secure such n service they would
get the lion's share of all the trade of that
section of Texas and a large business from
Mexico as well.
While deeply solicitous for Houston's In-
terests in the trade territory contiguous to
San Antonio and endeavoring to point the
way fnr Houston merchants to profit by
what is assumed to be San Antonio's leth-
argy or indifference, the Houston paper is
kind enough to suggest that "ozone, whether
hot or cold, is not going to save the Alamo
City's Lower Rio Grande Valley trade, nor
will perpetual political strife tend to encour-
age desirable immigration."
San Antonio fully realizes the need and
the advantages of direct railway connection
with the Rio Grande Valley, as well as the
need of a railway to the north by way of
Fredericksburg and the Llano region, and
knows full well that the growth and pros-
perity of the city would be promoted by
the establishment of industrial enterprises
The citizens are not unmindful of the ne-
cessity for activity and enterprise In the
rac? for commercial and industrial suprem-
acy, aa the Houston r»per seems to inti-
mate, but are wide awake and busy, u re-
suits will shortly attest. San Antonio has
no idea of trusting entirely to natural ad-
vantages, great as they are—to climate and
tourist traffic and the general allurements
lor homeseekers in which she so far ex-
cels all other cities of the Southwest—but
is going ahead with the enterprises In hand
and in prospect with a determination to
maintain her lead as the metropolis of the
State. There is enough patriotism and pub-
lic spirit in Sail Antonio to assure this,
and, while we may admire the pliicK and en-
terprise of would-be rivals, confidence in our
own supremacy is not a whit jostled.
WITH TEXAS EDITORS
ONLY THREE MORE DAYS.
San Antonians will have only two days
after today in which to qualify as voters in
any of the elections which will he held cur-
ing the present year, and there is danger
that a large number may delay paying their
poll taxes until the rush on the last day,
when they may be crowded out and thus be
disfranchised.
There should be something like 20,010
poll taxes and exemptions in the city. Only
11,240 poll taxes had been paid up to the
closing of the collector's office Saturday
night, but little more than half the number
there should be of voters in the coming elec-
tions. It is important, then, that during to-
day, tomorrow and the day after all who
have not paid poll taxes snould attend to the
matter. Tomorrow the crowd at the collec-
tor's office will be greater than it will be
today, and on the day after tomorrow it will
be still greater, so the better way will be
to go before the office close.- tonight.
Not only is it the duty of every man who
receives protection from the government,
city, county or State, to contribute to the
maintenance of that government, but it is
his duty to qualify as a voter in order that
he may have a part in the conduct of the
public affairs of the country. Under our
form of government every citizen is sup-
posed to be a part of the government, and
when a man neglects to do his part in the
selection of public officials or in respect to
any other question which is to be decided
at the polls, he fails to do his duty as an
American citizen. To get a poll tax receipt
may involve some inconvenience to the citi-
zen, as does the act of going to the polls
on election day, but no man should allow
this to weigh against a matter of duty as
important as can attach to any man living
under a republican form of government.
It is hoped several thousand men will pay
their poll taxes today, toirorrow and
Wednesday, and that all who can will do so
today.
A TRIBUTE OF LOVE.
The Waco newspapers reported a touching
scene which occurred in that city a few days
ago when, as the body of the late Mrs. Tom
Paugitt nfas being conveyed to the cemetery
for interment, several hundred negroes stood
upon one of the streets on the route with
uncovered heads while the cortege passed.
Mrs. Padgitt, a sister of the late Governor
Ross, had been born aiid reared in that sec-
tion. She was the first white child born in
McLennan County, and her childhood was
passed at a period when the faithful slaves
were the sole proteclion, often, of the white
families; she appreciated their loyalty and
loved the companions of her childhood for
the sturdy virtues they possessed. As she
grew to womanhood she was kind to her old
friends, and in her later days, surrounded by
luxury, she did not forget them.
Mrs. Padgitt was always a leader in char-
ital.le work, and hir ministrations were often
in the homes of the poor negroes, many of
whom she had known from childhood. It
was not surprising, then, that hundreds of
negroes should pay s loving tribute to their
dead friend in the most simple, yet sincere,
manner in their power. Their hearts were
in that simple homage and could their former
benefactress have known the love and rever-
ence which prompted this simple act, she
doubtless would ha', e esteemed it above cost-
ly marble or any otner inanimate testimonial
to her life work.
It may be remarked that the Democratic
members of the Congressional Committee
on Rivers and Harbors are not exercising
themselves very strenuously to get large ap-
propriations to improve navigation on Salt
River—probably because they are not con-
templating a voyage on that stream this year.
Now that It is all over except the result,
Governor Wilson may be in a position to
• ind out whether it was a boom or a bom!
he threw into that conversation he had
with Colonel Harvey in Colonel Watterson's
apanments.
Abou Ben Teddy.
Abou Hen Teddy (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke as usiml from a dream uf peace.
And saw a pressman writing In his room,
Who iniestloned hlni concerning of his boom.
Kjceedltig qui* had made Hen Teddy hot.
And to the visitor he Tied: "What rot
Writeet thou nowt" The pressrasn turned his
head.
Saw that his gateway was clear, and said:
"1 write their names who openly present
Themselves as candidates for President.''
"And Is mine one?" said Teddy. "Not as yet;
Tho' 'lis ngreed that you're the one ties! bet.''
"flet out!" roared Teddy. "Not a word today!
Who dares to quote me Is a liar, flood day!"
The pressman vanished by the window route.
And next day. when the public prints came out.
With trial ballots taken Kast and West—
«'anst beat ltT—Teddy's name led all the rest.
—Chicago Tribune.
—,
"You'll Love Me Yet."
You'll love me yet! And I can tarry
Your love's protracted growing:
June reared that bunch of flowers you carry.
From seeds of April's sowing.
I plant a benrtful now! sotne seed
At least Is sure to strike.
And yield—what you'll not pluck indeed.
Not love, but, may be, like.
You'll look/it least on love's remains.
A «rare's one vbdet;
lour l".k? Thai pays a thousand pains.
What's death: You'll lo»e loe \et:
-Browsing, "l'lpps I'uaa"
Th* Stylus, an Illustrated weekly newspaper
and home mngsziue, comprising editorials, cur-
rent news, society, recreation, music and drHtns,
Is ii new publication lu Houston, a copy of which
has been received by Tha Express. H. II. Car-
roll Jr. is the editor and JINs .Alice McFarlund
Is iniislc editor. The Stylus is bright, entertain-
ing and Instructive, and its mechanical makeup
Is excellent. The new publication deserves to
succeed.
Culling attention to a movement which has
been started to build a new tidewater port, jvltli
terminal and dock facilities, and to establish
factories at the mouth of the Brazos, the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram iisks: "IIus tho screech-
ing demagogue Invested u single dime iu this
enterprise?" To which question the answer is:
"Not on your life." Wull street dollars—the
James Hays Hammond sort of development dol-
lars will plump (his new bit of prosperity into
the lap of Texas. Lid the datnagogtie. I.et the
development dollar roll." The demagogue sel-
dom does anything to benefit humanity—never
intentionally—hut he does more damage to tbe
development aud progress of a country than
any other brand of leeches; but the demagogue
we have always with us. Texas needs money
Invested. Never mind about splitting hairs over
the question whether it Is tainted.
"Wan Antonio Is getting up a $75,000 publicity
fund, and if properly expended, that ought to do
lots of good for the city. Sail Antonio's neigh-
bors are going to sec more substantial growth
here during the next few years than they have
ever witnessed before. And the city hopes to
see Its neighbors "enjoy the samo great bless-
ing." i
Remarking that the El Paso Chamber of Com-
merce presented the Twenty-third Keglinent on
the eve of the departure of that soldiery from
the border with five barrels of beer, the Hal-
lettsville Herald notes that the report falls to
state wheiher the gift was appreciated to the
Tul!" extent. Anyhow, it may be assumed that
the soldiers would not have appreciated an
empty honor, and it Is not likely that they per-
mitted the libation to lie slaved off any great
length of lime after the bungstarter had got 111
Its work.
The nllly Atmosphere gives the shivering
youngsters of the frozen North this idea of one
of the luxuries of living in Southwest Texas:
"There were many barefoot children on our
streets Saturday, we having counted fourteen.
We give this In order that those living far away
may get an idea as to the gentleness of the
cold lu Southwest Texas."
That sounds good to some of the grownup
boys as well as to the ones in knee breeches.
No man ever looks hack to a more happy period
than when he could first take off Ids shoes and
stockings with the opening of spring and go
barefoot. What a string of fond recollections It
brings up. Wild flowers, digging fishbalt,
green plums, stouebrulses, end of school, fight-
ing "yaller" jackets, measles, watermelons—but
what's the use? It's all over now.
Iu the opinion of the Luling Signal, a busi-
ness campaign Is worth'n great deal more to the
people of Texas than a political campaign. This
Is what the Signal says oil the subject:
"All over the State the towns are organizing
clubs to boos^—thls candidate and that candi-
date for President, Governor or some other
office. All tills Is mighty nice, but what we
want to sen billing citizens do is keep pushing
the organizations we have to boost our towu
and surrounding country first and boost the
politicians afterward."
Anyway, it Is fortunate that a business cam-
paign can be conducted every year, while n
political campaign may come only once in two
years. That Is often enough, but the worst fea-
ture Is that when there is a political campaign,
» business campaign Is too often suspended.
More business and less politics is a good plat-
form for roost any candidate to stand on.
whether he wants an office or more business.
The Helton Journal regrets the retirement from
office of Sam Sparks, its former fellow towns-
man, who Is quitting the position of State Treas-
urer to engage in business, giving this Injunc-
tion: "All right, Sam, if you prefer being at
the bead of a big trust company to being a big
Governor of Texas after Colquitt serves another
term, you can just go on and do so. Your friends
here at your home will always believe in you.
The esteem and confidence of the people among
whom a man has spent the greater part of his
life lire more to bo desired than any political
office. Besides, there |s no money In politics
except for the grsfler. Mam Sparks gave as bis
reason for resigning that he owed It to his loved
ones to provide them with more money than thorp
is In a political position. Texas has had few, If
any. Governors who did not quit the office poorer
men than when they entered It.
The Corpus Christi Caller, like nil other South-
west Texas papers, Is a firm believer in the ne-
^cesslty for u good lair iu Ban Antonio. It says:
"The young men of San Antonio have gotten
behind the International Kair proposition and
will push It to u successful issue. The San An-
tonio Fulr Is something that could not well be
spared by South Texas. It Is a great pity it has
been allowed to languish. I.et San Antonio take
her lesson In fair management from Uallus. There
is nothing like profiting by successful experi
Effect on Chinese Students.
Doubtless <be crisis in China is affecting inter-
ests In all parls of the world In more ways than
we directly realized, l or one thing it. Is creating
unexpected embarrassment for Chinese students
In this country and other parts of the world.
I here are four such students In Hrown I diver-
sity. One confesses himself "broke" and the
others expect to be In a short ttine, though they
are facing the situation with Oriental cheerful
ness. Two of them were t• > have their expenses
paid by the praincc of Chile, In China, and In
American colleges there are thirty-three students
looking to that province for support during their
educational period. AJtogether there arc about
seven hundred Chinese students In this country
dependent upon their government while at the
colleges or universities. But Just what Is gov-
ernment and wbut Isn't In China at the present
tlni< 1s a~"inoot question and Just where the re-
sponsibility Ilea for keeping faith with these
young men may be » debatable point. Probably
not all will be equally embarrassed, but perhaps
not a few will find their prospects materially and
unpleasantly altered.- Boston Transcript.
Couldn't Call Names.
Owing to the fact that the advertising depart-
ment of the paper objects, we shall not lie able
to reveal'to our readers the name of the "pntent"
medicine the label of which shows that it Is 40
per cent whiskey. -Topeka Capital.
— —■ —
You Know It.
Amanwillrusharonndllketlils,
Eachaeeond'sworthadlnie;
Butlethlmspyadogfi«htand
lie has ull sorts of time.
—Cincinnati Inquirer.
Don't Bother the Colonel.
The progressive Republicans of Ohio want to
know ItooMTOlt'ii attitudo rc2nrding# the tariff,
the money question mid tlm trust*. 'The colonel
lutn a much mom important matter in tiiiml juvt
now. Why bother him with triflnltle#? Schenec-
tady UnNttf.
A Possible Long Chance.
"Tbe < 'Mbw republic will lw» pnltwiiM after
Use J lilted Htnt^e." smytt Preufdent Hun Vat Hen.
CwaHlerititf what Srmtior f.*lr*olIette *a>».
Dr. Hun tlnnk Tbfna ig laktag ■ long rbaoi«?»
CUT-I and UidiA
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
To the'Rditor of Tho Express: In your paper
of Inst Tlinrsdny Judge Solon K. Stewart taken
up tlio cudgel for the Illiterate voter and defends
him iin "a good elt!'//en w*ho 1h periodically ma-
ligned."
Of course, tin- term "illiterate voter," «a used
In the dlseuMion which is .fc'otng the rounds of
the press because of t'h# fact tliut Hon. Joseph
lloehiiier, member of the Legislature, called a
Convention fit Del Mo, having for Its object tbe
starting of u movement to purify the ballot, does
not mean I lie voter who lacks a college education,
but has specific reference to those foreigners
and others who permit politicians to pay their
poll tax aud vote them as If they*were dumb
animals.
As a matter of fact a law requiring one to
speak and read the English langage, or iu other
words, to make out Ills own ticket, would dis-
franchise but precious few of those alieua who do
not care enough about our country to learn Its
language.
1 deny that this vlelous. Irresponsible, pur-
chasable vote, to which we all have reference
when we erroneously use the words "illiterate
vote," is capable of being "maligned," as Judge
Stewart says, or has one symptom of good citi-
zenship about It.
If Judge Stewart does not know the method by
which tnis vote under discussion has been han-
dled in his own city, and all along the border-
land of Texas, he is not capable of passing on
Its fitness to participate In an election
for tbe selection of an officer or tbe en-
actment of a law. If he does know, then he has
no right to declare that an individual who bar-
ters his ballot for a little pottage Is a good
citizen.
"Ours is a government of, for aud by the peo-
ple," declares Judge Stewart; "the people for-
mulate and execute by proxy all the laws of the
body politic.' It being manifestly impossible, iu
other words, for the people to declare their will
viva voce, It behooves them to designate such
persons as are, in their judgment, most"capable
uf .formulating and enforcing the laws they
desire. Thus we have the present system of vot-
ing."
True, and it eloquently argues that the ballot
should be hold aloof from those who debauch It.
Being a government by the people, the people
make the laws," and through the servants they
elect enforce them. Therefore, If the laws are
good, If the government itself is good, the crea-
tor of the same must be good, for how can a
creature be greater than Its creator? Does
anybody ,believe for a moment that a herd of
"bullfighters," corralled several days in advance
of an electiou, bought by some politician and
voted just as the "official marker is instructed
to vote them, should bold in their {mnds the law-
making power of this Government V Are they
the kind of "good citizens" to keep in order the
house where dwells the manhood and womanhood
of America?
Judge Stewart speaks of "the honest farm
hand who would be deprived of a vote because
he bad failed to secure an education in his
youth," aud of Andrew Johnson, who could not
read nor write until he had attained his major-
ity, and says: "If you revoke the franchise
on the score of illiteracy you have taken from
the disfranchised voter that for which tbe Ameri-
can Commonwealth cume into being and have
created a privileged class—the aristocracy of
education."
The moat the author of this proposed reform
asks is that the voter be compelled to read
enough aud write enough of the English lan-
guage to make out his ticket. If the judge is
afraid of an aristocracy of education like that,
indeed he must believe in the triumph of un-
bridled ignorance. This Commonwealth came
into being in order to give mankind the best
Government the world bah ever seen, and by
that same stroke of wisdom with which tbe right
of suffrage is denied miners, soldiers, paupers
and many ofb^r'classes, it ought to be denied the
class of which we speak, if it can be shown that
such a denial will redound to the glory of the
State and the betterment of the people.
But, according to Judge Stewprt, "if you dis-
franchise this class, you must also follow such
a disfranchisement to its logical conclusion, re-
lieve tlie illiterate man from all obligations;
you must not bold him amenable to the laws;
you cannot tax his property; you cannot make
lit in serve as a witness.
Indeed, and where does lie find anything In
law or sound logic for this? We are reluctaut
to question tbe legal knowledge or wisdom of
a man whom we have seen on the bench trying
important cases involving life and property.
Rut Is not an alien amenable to our laws the mo-
ment he sets foot on our soil? Do we not tax
many who are not permitted to vote? Are not
minors, females and those without a poll tax re-
ceipt forced to serve as witnesses? W|hy relieve
from all obligations the man who is disfranchised
because he willfully sells his vole, and impose
the obligations upon one who forgets, or is un-
able to provide the tux collector with a dollar
and six bits before February I of each year?
Judge Stewart reasons poorly in this matter.
The Government In truth does not exchange tho
right of suffrage for obedience and honest serv-
ice. The best man is cast out if he fails to pay
his poll tax. while the most vile and vicious is
given a welcome At the polls if some office-seeker
lias ''fixed him up."
Is the individual who sells his vote and who
knows no principle but the price entitled to a
special privilege? Can anybody say that one
who cares so little about our country and our.
Government as to fail to learn its language in
the simplest sense, is entitled to vote, or im-
munity from our laws?
Efforts to arouse sympathy In behalf of the
purehascable voter by declaring hlni a "much
maligned" fellow and a "good citizen," and to
muddy tho waters with legal and ronstllullon.il
misinterpretations, must not sweep the real issue
aside.
The Del Uio convention has been called for the
purpose of starting a movement to rid Texas of
those voters who have no Interest to defend, no
principle at stake, and who would not and could
not participate in an electiou at all were it not
for designing politicians who pay tlielr poll tax,
bold their receipts in a vault and dictate exactly
how every ballot shall be cast. Hearken to no
false signals; we must go straight ahead!
AV8TINN CAM,AN.
Del Hlo, Tex., January 28 .
The Truth of History.
To the Editor of The Express: In h statement
of your reporter from Mexico published In The
Express of January 2ti the following occurs,
speaking of President Madero: "lie suspended
the Constitution of his country, though h* is as
much a stickler for It as ever Thomas Jefferson
was f<»r the one he wrote, aud which still en-
dures."
If by tbe above, quofsttou your correspondent
means the Constitution of the !>nited States,
attributing itn authorship to Thomas Jefferson,
he i* in error, nit hough a somewhat common one.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Iu
dependence, but did not write the Constitution
of the United States, as he himself declares. He
says he did not see a copy of it until it had been
adopted by several of the 'States, which covered
a period of nearly a year, he being at the time
iniulster to France.
He was the author of what is known as the
Rill of Klghts. which was adopted at bis earnest
solicitation, safegarding Individual rights under
the Constitution for all time.
J. W. CARHART.
«^Shu Antonio, Tex., January 28.
The Qualified Voter.
To The Editor of Tbe Express! I noticed in
your issue of the 25th Inst, an article from the
pen of Mr. Solon K Stewar; on "The Illiterate
Note." I think the article both lime!? and lu
place, and one «hnt 4s full of leg;! aud logical
reasoiing 1 am imieed glad i» nee that he
earnestly contends for a fair and impartial eon-
sideratlon of the rights of the qualifier, voters of
the State of Texas. While it is true he did not
specifically say anything concerning tbe negro
as a qualified voter other than the discussion of
the rights of qualified voters in general, yet I
must say he pnlled down the fence of class-legls.
latlon sufficiently low for tbe negro to step over
It In the enjoyment of the rights of American citi-
zenship nntrainmeled. Such a broad aud unre-
served contention for the rights of suffrage of
every legalised American eitiien fa worthy of tbe
highest esteem and compliment of every liberty-
loving eltlsen of the American Government. I
nm sure there Is not one who ran gainsay any-
thing Mr. Htewart has said nlon* the line of
legalised American rlghta aud privilege, ei-
pre*»rii la the statu*** of ritixeua' right®, nndcr
the law* of this coiBtry. J. ft. CAKNJ58.
Cvero, Tex., Jaaory 9
FORTY-EIGHTH STATE
BY I REDKRIC J. IIASKIN.
Tucson, Ariz. -Comes now Arizona, the forty-
eighth nnd last Stale of ftur federal Union. With
the proclamation of the President, which con-
summatea the action of Congress and of .the P®0,
pie of Arizona, the new State is formally admit-
ted, aud the unlou of forty-eight sovereign States
extends over the territory from the Atlantic to
the Pacific aud from Canada to Mexico. On the
Fourth of July, uoxt, Old Glory will break from
the top of mast and staff, bearing forty-eight
stars -a completed constellation.
If there are to be new States and new stars
in the future they must come us the result of
tbe division of some one or more of the forty-
eight States of our contiguous continental terri-
tory, or In that far distant duy when Alaska,
Hawaii. Porto Rico or some other of our outlying
possessions shall have attained to that importance
and influence which will compel Congress to
grant them the privileges and immunities of
statehood. But It Is certain, as far an one may
now see, that 'it will be many, many years be-
fore Arizona will be displaced from its position
of the youngest State iji the lTniou.
Of all the States. Arizona 1s by nature blessed
with gifts the most wonderful. Within its bor-
ders arc found types of animal and plant nf®
of every climate In the world except those of tho
humid tropics. In its mountain tops, among the
snows, are seen the flora and fauna of tbe boreal
regions, and in its southern pVMns the almost
lifeless desert.
Arizona has the Grand Canyon, tlie most, majes-
tic manifestation of the baud!work of God on th«
lace of the earth; and the petrified forests, tho
most curious example of the craftsmanship of
nature in the world.
In Arizona Is to he found the most magnificent
monument of that ancient civilization whose story
the archeologists are attempting to read; in Ari-
zona was the last armed struggle of the aborig-
inal Indian against tho white man; In Arizona
perished the frontier, and in Arizona is estab-
lished the crown of our civilization.
Arizona tukes its name from the Spanish-Indian
word "Arlzonac," the name of a mining camp es-
tablished more than two hundred years ago In
the Desert of Mexico, just south of the present
Arizona border. What it means is not exactly
known, but the weight of authority as well as
apt appropriateness is in favor of a free transla-
tion : "Land of few springs." The territory
was settled by the Spanish early in the Seven-
teenth Century and was. until after the American
occupation, a part of New Mexico. In tbe Eigh-
teenth Century many Spanish missions were
built and much progress was made in Christian-
izing the Indians. Of the Arizona towns, 'J ucson
is the largest and the oldest. It was known a*
an Indian town as early as 1752, aud in 17io, tne
year of the Declaration of Independence, it
formally established as a Spanish military post.
All that part of Arizona north of the Gila River,
then Included as a part of New Mexico, was
seized by the Americaus in 1846 aud formally
ceded by Mexico In the treaty of 1848. In 1853-o4
the Gadsden Purchase was consummated, which
added to the United States territory that portion
south of the Gila, which includes Tucson, Yuma
and the greater part of the mining section of the
State. As early as 1856 the pfoplo of Arizona
petitioned Congress for separation from New
Mexico und the establishment of an Independent
territorial government, but their entreaties were
of no avail. Oddly enough Arizona was organ-
ized as a territory by the Congress of the Con-
federate States of America a whole year before
the same thing was done by the Congress of tbe
rnited States of America. The territory w#s
occupied earJv in the Civil War by n force oi
Confederates from Texas, aud the government
thev organized was recognized by the Confed-
erate Congress at Richmond. The Confederates
being driven out by a Union force from Califor-
nia in 18flH, the territory was organized by the
Federal Government and a ready-made itinerant
government was sent out by President Lincoln.
The capital was established at Prescott from
IS#;; to 1807, at Tucson from 1H07 to 1877. again
nt Prescott from 1877 to 3880, and finally at
Phoenix, where It has rernaiMtf since 1880.
Almost Immediately the people of the terri-
tory began to agitate the statehood question, but
they were destined to wait toii'g for the consum-
mation of their desires. Perhaps the effoyts of
Arizona to attain statehood have been more
strongly marked by disagreement between the
people of the State and the Federal Government
than those of a^uy other State. Iu 1801 Arizona •
formed a Constitution and would have been ad-
mitted to the Union but for the fact that Arj-
zonans were unwilling to eliminate from their
Constitution a provision that silver money should
be a standard of legal tender. Tin willing to for-
feit their loyalty to silver, the people were delict
the boon of statehood. In liXMJ Congress passed
an enabling act admitting New Mexico and Ari-
zona into the Union .as one State, acceptance de-
pending. agreeable to an amendment by Scuutof
Foraker of Ohio, upon a favorable vote of a ma-
jority of tho people of the two Territories taken
separately. The New Mexicans gave an over-
whelming majority in favor of the joint state-
hood, but iu Arizona the proposition was de-
feated by more than five to one.
Finally when Congress at Inst passed an en-
abling act admitting both Territories as sepa-
rate States, the Arlzonans Included in their Con-
stitution a provision for the recall of all elective
officers, including judges, a provision which waa
so distasteful to President 'I aft that he declined
to approve the Constitution, and statehood .for
Arizona was made dependent upon the elimina-
tion of tbe objectionable clause of tbe Constitu-
tion at the first election. This elimination was
made at the election iu December, but the doiii-
nunt Democratic piirty In Arizona ia pledged to
put the rei'nll of JiuIrpr, In some form or otwr,
l»nck Into ilip Constitution hn soon h* posiiibia
iiftpr statehood l.s attained.
Arluona Is not only the taut of tlm Slates, lmt
It also was the last part of wliat 1s now tli«
United States to yield tip its secrets to tlio «'x-
plorer. In 1N.72 mi expedition <>f army engineers,
accompanied hy a few scientists, by direction of
the Government set out from the l'neblo of Ziml
to explore the course of the '/Ml!I and Colorado
Klvei'H "to Camp Yuinn on the Colorado of tin!
West." The party set out from Santa l'e and,
after helnff forceil It, ninl'e n detour around tTtf
(irand Canyon, finally arrived at ^uiua after cv-
perienciitji terrific hardships and many ituic*
rlsklnir death, sometimes at the hands of h-»tl o
Indlaus, and suihetiines tn th© throes of thirst.
The report cf Hint expedition. BH printed hy con-
gress and including many colored lithographic
plates, was the first Intimation to th" American
people "f the wonders and the weal Hi of their
new Territory.
In 18j7 II stage line waa put on. running
S.UI Antonio to Sua l>ie#o by way of 101 l'»*n,
Tucson and Yuma, the route now traversed by
tho .Southern Pacific ltallway. This stage Una
ran twice a month each way and was given an
annual subsidy of $126,000 by the federal Hot-
erument. In lboS this line was merged lu the
famous Overland Mall ntage Hue, which ran from
St. l.ouis to Sau Francisco. Tucson, 1.000 i»llea
from St. Louis and 1 ,tHH> uillcs from San Fran-
cisco. was a regular stopping place on the tfrent
overiaud route. John Puttcrfleld and his asso-
ciates were nlven *000,000 a year for carrying th«
mail three times a week betweeu St. Lonlt on
the Mississippi and Ran Krunclaco on the Pa-
cific. The couches ran day and night, usually
making the trip iu twenty-one days, although
the law allowed twenty-five. It was the longest
stage route ever known, the most Important and
the most romantic. To the days of the Overland
Mail belong tbe sagas of the golden age of our
Wesd. This stage route, which had been located
through the South .on account of political influ-
ence at Washington, was discontinued In 1SG1,
and from the beginning of the Civil Wnr until
September. lSftl. more than four years. Tucson
had no mall, the first after the war arriving l,y
horseback from California.
In those days, from the end of the Civil Wnr
until the ndvent of the railroad In lfcTK, Ariiona
was a wild land. The Apache Indinns terrorised
all the. settlers; there were frequent massacres
nnd perennial depredations. Almost as danger-
ous ns the renegade Indians were the "bad men"
—highwaymen and rustlers cast lip ns the flot-
sam mid Jetsam of the surrounding civilisation.
In that time Tucson was a Mexican town of
about four linndred people, consisting of l«*
adobe buildings, and devoted completely to gam
hllng In this little Tillage thonsands upotN
thousands of dollar* changed hands tn a uight
bv the medium of monte and poker. But 'be
railroad came, and In Its civilising trail fol-
lowed the American soldiers that^Man eu<| to
the Apache outrages; the Americans of Pnrilsn
stock who put sn end to the gambling; and th#
American dollars that forced the mountains to
glv# up I heir hoarded treas«rr and roaxod *"
d«aert to bear fratt as a garden.
> «* I
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San Antonio Express. (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 47, No. 29, Ed. 1 Monday, January 29, 1912, newspaper, January 29, 1912; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth432692/m1/4/?rotate=90: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Library Consortium.